[ad_1]
Liverpool face Chelsea with a new image but clearly a potent threat on Sunday afternoon, when Timo Werner takes on the Reds for the first time, and also Kai Havertz.
Jurgen Klopp was a fan of both players and the German pair were extensively connected with a move to Anfield before ending up at Stamford Bridge.
Certainly Liverpool’s defense will have to play at a higher level than it did against Leeds United on opening day, even if Chelsea rarely looked well oiled against Brighton on Monday.
Liverpool’s troubles on Saturday were partly collective mistakes, including a baseline that was rarely in line all afternoon, but individual mistakes were costly too.
On the Analyzing Anfield podcast, Josh Williams said: “In terms of Virgil van Dijk’s mistake, he will benefit from that and maybe he needs it.
“It made me think of when Liverpool signed Alisson and he was doing Cruyff spins and throwing opposing players with his first touch, almost to justify his skill.
“He snatched the ball from him in Leicester and conceded a goal and made a show of himself. All Cruyff spins and everything stopped – you play with fire, you get burned and you learn your lesson.
“On the first day of the season, no points were lost and Liverpool will rebound. What Van Dijk has done well since coming to Liverpool is ‘football percentage’.
“Taking risks when it is worth taking risks and avoiding when there is potential danger. Liverpool are good at that kind of thing.
Listen to the full Analyzing Anfield podcast by clicking HERE
“That’s what the Leeds game was: high stakes football, from start to finish, and when a game is like this, it’s very difficult to defend with control.
Van Dijk has made just three such mistakes in the Premier League, leading directly to goals, since he moved to Liverpool from Southampton for a world record fee of £ 75 million.
On each of the three occasions, he has not been made to pay, once against Fulham in a game Liverpool had already won, and the other against Arsenal after Project Restart when the league title was already closed.
[ad_2]
